Did we ever see anyone vote in the Federation?

[rahullak]

Electronic Voting Machines used in Indian elections have the benefit of quick counting.

But yeah, there's no need to rush to declare an election result.

[DEWLine]

Christopher wrote:

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I really don't think you're considering the logistics that would entail when you're dealing with over 150 entire planets. It's nonsense to think you can meaningfully extrapolate from how it happens in a single country.

You've got that right. And we're not even talking about each member star-nation's associated colonies and outposts, if they brought any such with them when they co-founded/joined the UFP.

Christopher wrote:

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And again, what is your rush? What is wrong with the idea of taking the time to be sure the results are trustworthy? It's not like the winners have to take office by the end of election day or something. There's naturally going to be a period of transition between election and inauguration. So no damage is going to be done if it takes an extra day or three to collate and verify the results. And plenty of damage could be done if the process were rushed for no good reason.

In our real 'verse, Canada is itself possibly paying for a rush to vote-count judgement right now. The results of several dozen federal ridings in the most recent national elections are under question at the moment, partly due to concerns over "robocall"-induced voter suppression. The investigations and court dates are not yet over and done...and that's just for a planet-bound nation of 35 million.

[BillJ]

With the technology the Federation possesses, voting should be a near instantaneous process.

[Sci]

BillJ wrote:

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With the technology the Federation possesses, voting should be a near instantaneous process.

With the cultural maturity the Federation possesses, the desire for a near-instantaneous process should have been long since discarded as risky and immature.

[Greg Cox]

BillJ wrote:

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With the technology the Federation possesses, voting should be a near instantaneous process.

Not necessarily. Back on TOS, the Enterprise was constantly visiting remote colonies and settlements that had been out of touch with the Federation for months.or even years. And even the Enterprise wasn't always able to communicate with Starfleet Command instantaneously. Technology had its limits.

Space is big.

Yeah, tabulating the vote on Earth is probably pretty streamlined, but getting the polling results from Deep Space Station K-7 or the Icarus Colony way out on Gamma Sigma VI . . . .

(Especially when the tribbles keep getting into the voting machines!)

[JD]

I could see it taking several days for the entire vote count to be finished. While communication might be pretty much instantaneous on one planet, or between nearby planets, we have seen repeatedly that it can still take quite a while for messages to get from one side of the Federation to the other. Not to mention the fact that there would probably be votes come in from outposts and ships that aren't even in the Federation at the time.
Then there is the fact that the person you're electing will become one of the most powerful beings in the entire galaxy. When you're making such a huge decision I can see where it would be a good idea to take you're time and make sure that your results are accurate.

[Drago-Kazov]

Are there monarchies that are part of the federation or enlightened dictatorships?

[Nerys Myk]

Drago-Kazov wrote:

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Are there monarchies that are part of the federation or enlightened dictatorships?

The Andorian state was call the "Andorian Empire" so I assume it was a monarchy. Though the head of state was called a Chancellor. Perhaps it is a constitutional monarchy.

No idea about "enlightened dictatorships". ( what ever that means)

[Christopher]

Zombie Cheerleader wrote:

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The Andorian state was call the "Andorian Empire" so I assume it was a monarchy.

But did it keep that name after joining the UFP? According to Mike Sussman's Archer bio screen from "In a Mirror, Darkly," what was formerly called the Andorian Imperial Guard was later called simply the Andorian Guard. That implies the Empire dissolved into the Federation upon joining.

[Sci]

Christopher wrote:

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But did it keep that name after joining the UFP? According to Mike Sussman's Archer bio screen from "In a Mirror, Darkly," what was formerly called the Andorian Imperial Guard was later called simply the Andorian Guard. That implies the Empire dissolved into the Federation upon joining.

Well, we do know from Andor: Paradigm that they kept the Empty Throne after Federation Membership, so it's entirely plausible that the Andorian state continued to be called an "empire" even if it was such only in a ceremonial, constitutional monarchy sense.

[Christopher]

But Britain still has a throne -- and a monarch sitting on it -- but no longer has an empire. So the same could go for the Andorians.

[Sci]

Christopher wrote:

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But Britain still has a throne -- and a monarch sitting on it -- but no longer has an empire. So the same could go for the Andorians.

True. But on the other hand, Andor might be an empire only in the same sense that Britain is a kingdom -- a ceremonial sense. It might just be an empire in name rather than actuality.

[Christopher]

^Or it might not be an empire at all. I don't see any reason to assume it still uses the name after 2161, unless you can cite some text in which it actually does.

[Sci]

Christopher wrote:

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^Or it might not be an empire at all. I don't see any reason to assume it still uses the name after 2161, unless you can cite some text in which it actually does.

All we know with any certainty is that the Andorian Imperial Guard is still called such in 2376 in Andor: Paradigm. I'm inclined to interpret that as indicating that their state is still called the Andorian Empire, but your mileage may vary.

[Christopher]

I think Paradigm was written before "In a Mirror, Darkly," though, so I'd be inclined to consider that as a continuity glitch, an assumption of a novel that was later superseded by canon. Granted, Sussman's bio screens aren't strictly canonical, but they're closer to it than a tie-in novel, and it does make more sense that they would've dropped the "Imperial" on joining the UFP.